On November 9, 2018, armed operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency, raided newspaper distribution centres in Asaba, the Delta State capital, and confiscated all publications affiliated with Biafra.
The DSS operatives confiscated various Biafra-related tabloids including Biafra Times, Biafra Star, Biafra Republic, Biafra Rising Sun, Biafra Voice, Biafra Journal and Biafra Trust.
They raided all the major newspaper centres in the city included those on Ibusa Road, Nnebisi Road, and Mixed Secondary School area. Other centres at Summit Road, Okpanam Road, Anwai Road, West-End Road, Abraka and Cable-Point area were not spared.
Members of the pubic who were reading the tabloids at the time of the raid fled the scene.
The DSS operatives did not give reason for the raid but merely claimed they were obeying directives from above but it is suspected that it might be because of recent comments made by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
Lamenting the raid, a newspaper distributor said the raid had caused fear on her vendors and has led to sharp drop in her sales.
Speaking further, she said, “They [DSS operatives] came with rifles of different shapes and in their usual black-black uniform. I wanted to run but one of them aimed his gun at my leg. At this point, I had to stop. They ransacked my newspapers’ stand and collected all those that have Biafra as their mastheads.”
The agency did not give the public any reason for the raid.
